If you miss the days of pen pals and rue the fact that you never get any letters any more, there’s a simple solution: File a Right-to-Information request with the Delhi Development Authority, or another municipal agency in the capital that has anything to do with land.

The volume of return mail you’ll get will make it worth your while to invest in a good, old-fashioned letter-opener (for those born after the Internet, see here.)

My main experience of using the RTI came while seeking information from the DDA and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for a story about housing in the city. Read More »

Over the past six years, the Right-to-Information Act has emerged as a powerful tool for India’s civil society to promote transparency and hold those in power accountable. The law, which allows Indian citizens to seek information from most government bodies, was first implemented in October 2005.

To mark the sixth anniversary of the RTI Act, India Real Time presents a list of some the most successful RTI cases.

Read about them after the jump and tell us your stories in the Comments section. Read More »

India’s Right-to-Information Act, which came into effect Oct. 13, 2005, was a milestone piece of legislation for the country, allowing Indian citizens to file requests for information to almost all government bodies. Prominent Right-to-Information activist Krishnaraj Rao looks at what RTI has meant for the country so far.

Looking back at six years of RTI, it’s clear that the battlefront has moved significantly from where it was in 2005. We RTI activists gained a large amount of ground, but we are also at risk of losing some of those gains if we are unwilling to promptly learn and adapt.

In a bid to ensure transparency, India’s sports ministry wants to bring the Board of Control for Cricket in India under the umbrella of the 2005 Right to Information Act, a powerful anticorruption tool that allows citizens to request information from almost all government bodies.

Here is a roundup of what several Indian newspapers had to say on this issue.Read More »

The murder of Shehla Masood last week stoked fresh fears among Right-to-Information activists, who renewed demands for greater state protection.

Ms. Masood, an environmental and anti-corruption activist, was shot dead outside her home in Bhopal, in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday. Ms. Masood joins a growing list of RTI activists who many say have been targeted because of the information they gathered under the law. Read More »

Leaders of the future need platforms for voicing their concerns. Above, students of Hyderabad’s Osmania University demanded a separate state in March.

In the 2014 general election, there will be around 100 million new eligible voters. That is almost the equivalent of throwing the entire population of Mexico into India’s electorate.

Almost all of these new voters will have been born after the three major milestones that have defined the nation’s politics for the last two decades: the 1991 economic reforms; the Babri Masjid riots; and the first Mandal reservations’ drama.

Yavnika Khanna is the founding member and national coordinator of the Liberal Youth Forum India, a nonprofit trust that aims to mentor university students to play a greater role in governance and politics. Harsh Gupta is coordinator of LYF’s Kolkata chapter.Read More »

In the attendance rankings of India’s Cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defense Minister A.K. Antony score 100%, according to new information obtained through a Right to Information filing on meetings for the year ended March 31.

The RTI was filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal in March this year. It found that other regular attendees were Oil Minister Murli Deora (38 out of 48 meetings, or 79%), Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni (37 meetings, or 77%) and Home Minister P. Chidambaram (36 meetings or 75%.) Read More »

The Supreme Court has its own set of rules and fees for people seeking court documents.

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed an order that would have allowed Indians to seek information from the Supreme Court under the country’s Right-to-Information act, rather than under existing court rules, after the top court appealed the ruling.

Citizen-oriented legislation like the 2005 Right to Information Act has enabled Indian citizens to more effectively participate in the world’s largest democracy. Above, India’s national emblem atop a government building in Bangalore.

India is expected to take one more stab at creating an ombudsman to check corruption at federal government offices including the parliament and even the cabinet.

Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said earlier this month that a legislation proposing to create a “Lokpal” or ombudsman office, is going to come up before the cabinet for consideration. If cleared by the cabinet, the bill then goes to the two houses of parliament for discussion and vote. If it is passed, it is then enacted with the president’s approval.

A spokeswoman for the ministry of law and justice said on Wednesday that the bill is likely to be considered by the cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “soon.”

It’s another citizen-oriented legislation to help ensure politicians use their offices for the good of the voters. The 2005 Right to Information Act has already proven revolutionary by enabling Indian citizens to more effectively participate in the world’s largest democracy. Read More »

About India Real Time

India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at indiarealtime(at)wsj(dot)com.